US equity futures edged higher on Wednesday, recovering part of the previous session’s modest losses as investors waited to see how an expectedly soft jobs report might reshape the global macroeconomic outlook. Futures linked to the three major US stock indexes were slightly in the green, with Dow-linked contracts extending record territory above 50,000.
White House officials urged investors not to place too much weight on the upcoming employment data, tempering optimism after earlier consensus forecasts had called for a 50,000 gain in nonfarm payrolls and an unchanged unemployment rate. In interest-rate markets, traders continued to price in two Federal Reserve rate cuts for this year. That outlook is being pulled in opposite directions by more dovish commentary from several Fed governors and comparatively hawkish signals from some rotating regional Fed presidents on the FOMC.
Chipmakers were subdued after a volatile start to February. In individual stock moves, Robinhood fell 8% in premarket trading after missing fourth-quarter revenue expectations, while Mattel tumbled 30% following weaker-than-anticipated holiday sales.
